


never meant to make you fall with me

by lifewasradical



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Bad Flirting, Fluff, Hiking, M/M, Meet-Cute, Michael is clumsy, kinda. just roll with it, thats all I'm gonna say, this is so fucking stupid I'm sorry already
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29615298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lifewasradical/pseuds/lifewasradical
Summary: Michael’s first misstep of the day was deciding that it was a good idea to take Moose for a hike. Michael hates hiking on a good day, nevermind when he’s alone and it's hot. He should have just taken Moose for a quick walk around the block, butno, he just had to go to the woods instead to make it harder on himself. It was a stupid idea over all, but what made it even worse was his second misstep.Right into a hole.Or, Michael shouldn't be allowed to go hiking.
Relationships: Michael Clifford/Calum Hood
Comments: 8
Kudos: 12





	never meant to make you fall with me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FayeHunter](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FayeHunter/gifts).



> a prompt fic for my love [Emily](https://pixiegrl.tumblr.com), "are you stupid or stupid?" another thank you to [Taylor](https://michaelownsmyheart.tumblr.com) for helping me with this stupid idea and for being the queen of Malum. 
> 
> title from clumsy by all time low

Michael’s first misstep of the day was deciding that it was a good idea to take Moose for a hike. Michael hates hiking on a good day, nevermind when he’s alone and it's hot. He should have just taken Moose for a quick walk around the block, but _no_ , he just had to go to the woods instead to make it harder on himself. It was a stupid idea over all, but what made it even worse was his second misstep.

Right into a hole. 

It’s ridiculous really, for there to even be a hole this large so close to the hiking trail. But of course it would be Michael’s luck to stumble over Moose and fall right down the edge of the forest. He’s unharmed other than a bruised ego, but with the steep embankment, he can’t seem to get back up the side. He tried getting a grip on anything that could help him hoist himself back up onto the trail, but he came up with nothing but handfuls of dirt. 

He’s been stuck for about twenty minutes, periodically shouting for help in case someone happens to be walking nearby. He didn’t think to bring any water with him, intending for this escapade to be no more than a thirty minute trip, so he’s kicking himself now as his throat is getting dry. His phone is probably right over the edge too, somewhere where he just can’t reach it from the shock of tripping. He’s a complete mess.

Above him, just out of arm’s reach too, is Moose, wagging her tail happily as she looks down at Michael. If she wasn’t so damn cute, he would be annoyed that she was sitting there as if nothing was wrong. But still, some small part of him hopes that a stranger will see her sitting there and come to his rescue. Her tongue hangs out of her mouth in the midday sun, shadows dancing across her as the leaves move on the trees. 

“Go get help, Moose,” Michael urges her for the umpteenth time, knowing that she’s not going to go anywhere. Instead, she lays down on the ground, tilting her head at him happily. 

Michael sighs, sucking in a deep breath before clearing his throat. “HELP,” he yells, echoing in the empty space around him. Moose barks once to help, panting down at him. Michael waits, desperate to hear any sound that someone is coming, that he’s not going to be stuck here forever. 

Sweat drips down the side of his face, tickling his neck in it’s path away from his snapback. Michael wipes at it uselessly, frowning at the mud that must be streaked across his forehead now. Great, he thinks, as if this could get any worse. 

It seems like the universe hears his threat and raises the stakes in the form of someone coming to his rescue. “Hey pretty, what are you doing out here alone,” a voice talks to Moose, just tiny enough to be a ways down the path. 

“Help!” Michael yells, coughing at how raspy his throat feels. When he’s home, he’s going to down the largest glass of water he can find and never leave the safety of indoors ever again, he swears. 

“Huh?” the voice questions, skipping into Michael’s view. 

It’s like the entire world is out to get him today because Michael is sure this is the most beautiful man he’s ever seen in his entire life. He looks far too put together for a light hike, curls sat on top of his head carefully, tank top emphasizing his muscles perfectly. He has dark tinted glasses covering his eyes, but Michael can see from here that his brows are furrowed in confusion. 

“What are you doing down there?” the man asks, huffing out a laugh as he inspects Michael’s situation. He bends down to pet Moose, who presses her head up into the man’s hand in appreciation. Michael inspects him for a minute longer, taking in his demeanor and deciding that even though it’s fairly odd for this man to be alone in the woods and petting his dog, there doesn’t seem to be anything truly wrong with the mysterious guy.

“Well, I just thought it would be nice to see the world from below the walking trail. Seemed like a great idea to just venture off the safe route,” Michael deadpans, rolling his eyes. There’s a pause where neither of them speak. “No, I tripped over Moose, she’s not the best at walking on the trail. She gets too excited about all the smells and noises. I can’t seem to get a good enough grip to get out.” 

“Are you stupid or stupid,” mysterious man says, sitting on the edge of the trail with his feet hanging down into Michael’s space. His sneakers kick dirt down towards Michael, but at least he has the decency to look guilty at the action.

“I resent that, it was an accident,” Michael insists, crossing his arms defiantly. He wants to get out of here so badly, but he’s not going to do so if some guy is going to act like he’s above him just because he fell. 

“Do you want help or not?” mysterious man asks, pulling his glasses off and putting them on his head. If Michael wanted to die of embarrassment before, he definitely does now because he’s got kind eyes, brown and wide. Michael is a sucker for anyone who looks friendly, even if this man has an attitude that would send him running. 

“Yeah,” Michael groans. The guy turns so he’s laying on his side and extends his hands down to Michael. It’s only a few inches, but Michael stands on his tip toes to allow the man to hold onto his arms. With a grunt, mysterious man pulls on Michael’s biceps and heaves him onto the path. Michael swings his body up and around so he’s sitting properly on the edge, sighing deeply as he looks back down at where he had been standing before. 

From his vantage point, he sees why mysterious man thought he was stupid; it looks like it would be easy to climb up from the ground. But Michael knows better and also knows that he would never be able to convince the man that he was truly trapped, so instead he just stands, watching as the other man does the same thing.

“Thank you,” Michael says, leaning down to pick up Moose’s leash and his phone off the ground. He dusts them off and turns to head back towards the car, completely giving up on the rest of the hike. All he wants now is to sit on the couch with a snack and all the curtains drawn as if that’ll shield him from the reminder that this situation ever happened. 

“Wait!” mysterious man calls, jogging up to where Michael is hastily walking away. 

Michael slows, but Moose continues to pull him forwards, so he doesn’t fully stop. Mysterious man falls into step next to him instead, “I didn’t get your name.” 

Michael squints at him quickly before returning his attention back to the path, desperate not to do something embarrassing again. He isn’t sure he could live with himself if he managed to make a fool of himself again. 

“Michael,” he says flatly, gripping Moose’s leash a little tighter. Maybe that’s all this guy wants, to rob Michael and steal his dog. Maybe he’s planning on knocking him down again too, just for good measure, before he steals his car keys and runs off with his car too. Explaining that to his friends and family would be almost impossible, “ _Hey guys, I need someone to pick me up from this random mountain because some hot guy stole my dog and my car and my wallet_.” Michael would never hear the end of it from Luke. 

“I’m Calum,” mysterious man -- Calum -- offers. 

They walk in silence for another minute, Michael on edge the entire time. He’s waiting for Calum to do something, to prove his theory right or wrong. There has to be some ulterior motive for all of this, no one just decides to accompany a stranger on their hike. 

“Do you hike around here often?” Calum asks, footsteps heavy on the dirt path. 

“Uh, no. First time. And probably last,” Michael huffs, shoulders slouching a little. He can almost see where the parking lot is, trees clearing out and civilization coming back into view. 

“That’s a shame, I was hoping that I’d see you around here again sometime,” Calum says, staring out at the final stretch of path ahead of them. 

“What?” Michael gapes, blinking at Calum. There’s no way that this beautiful hero of a man wants to see Michael again after he’s made a total mess of himself in front of him. Hell, he called him stupid for crying out loud, Michael didn’t think that he ever wanted to see him again. 

“I think you might owe me for saving your life,” Calum offers, winking before settling his sunglasses back over his eyes. 

“I don’t- I… What?” Michael stammers, unable to get his brain to catch up to what’s happening in the real world. This wasn’t how he thought the day was going to go, but at this point, he should just expect the sky to fall because anything could happen. 

“Maybe you could pay me back with lunch? There’s a good place down the road that lets dogs in. Moose can join us?” Calum says, just the tiniest hint that his confidence is starting to waver in his voice. 

“Uh, yeah,” Michael says stupidly, “I’d like that.” 

Calum beams, “Great, let’s go. It’s just a left at the stop sign and you’ll see it on the right, impossible to miss.” And with that, Calum is out of sight, climbing into a black car and waving as he starts off down the road. 

When Michael finally is able to regain control of his body, he follows Calum to the cafe he mentioned and they enjoy a nice lunch. Michael almost manages to forget how they got here in the first place but when they’re going their separate ways (with a promise of meeting up again soon), Michael notices that Calum put his contact in as “Your Savior Calum.” 

Michael didn’t expect for the day to go this way, but in the end, he’s pretty damn happy that he is a clumsy fool. Maybe he will end up going hiking again, except this time he won’t have to do it alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Talk to me on Tumblr [lifewasradical](https://lifewasradical.tumblr.com) 💜


End file.
